World championship great experience for local goalie

STARTING GOALIE

Submitted photo

Jordan Binnington, who cottaged in Lake of Bays and moved to Gravenhurst last year, started as goalie for Canada in the last game of the world junior hockey championship. Binnington currently plays for the Owen Sound Attack.

SOUTH MUSKOKA - A Canadian goalie is taking the lessons from the world championships as a positive experience despite Canada missing a medal for the first time in 14 years.
Jordan Binnginton, a Gravenhurst resident, said he sat on the bench for most of the championship but was able to play in two key games – one against the U.S., the other as starting goalie against Russia in Canada’s the final game.
“It was short-lasting, but still I’m going to hold my head up high and I had lots of fun throughout the tournament and it was a great experience overall.”
He applauded Russia’s talent in their 6-5 overtime win in the final game, and Canada’s character for evening out the score from a 2-0 beginning.
“Personally I would have liked it to go a little bit better, but sometimes it’s not your night and you’ve got to use it as a learning experience. The atmosphere in the game was lots of fun to play in,” he said.
Binnington plays for the Owen Sound Attack and is currently the fourth top goalie in the OHL with .93 save percentage, 17 wins and six losses.
Growing up, Binnington spent his summer at the family’s cottage in Lake of Bays which has been passed down through the generations. His family moved to Gravenhurst this past summer, which is listed in the OHL as his hometown.
He usually comes up to the cottage on weekends, sometimes stealing away for a day during the week as well.
Binnington said his hockey career was not shaped by his time in Muskoka, though he does hit the ice here even on his summer vacation.
“There’s hockey everywhere. I was up there for a couple weeks this summer and I skated with my buddy … and went to the gym a couple times,” he said.
Being chosen to play in the world championship was not a surprise, but that didn’t lessen the sweetness of the experience.
Binnington played in the Subway Super Series against Russia in November and said he was confident in what he was doing the year prior to being chosen to go to Worlds.
“I was very excited to get the call to go to Calgary and then when I got the call that I’d made the team I was even more happy,” he said. “It was a dream come true for sure for me and my family.”
He said his family has been very supportive through good and bad, all the way to Russia.
“It was good to have my dad and stepmom and sister there to see some familiar faces,” he said.
Binnington still dreams the same dream he did when he began playing hockey at the age of five: making it to the NHL.
“I love the feeling of winning, so hopefully we can do a little bit more of that and hopefully move up,” he said.